~ lori and al ~

Why I Love My Husband

Lori: God, I need a whoopie pie right now.
Al: Get this woman a whoopie pie, STAT!

Happy anniversary to the man who always puts my needs first.

The Gates

Last Saturday Al and I (and Austen) drove up to New York to see Christo's Gates. We'd planned to go on the 19th, but none of us got enough sleep the night before to make the trip worthwhile. (We learned our lesson about traveling too far afield when we're exhausted back in January, when we journeyed down to Maryland so I could get my hair cut.)

As it turned out, the week's delay allowed a fresh coat of snow to fall, providing a beautiful blank backdrop for the orange art. (OK, OK—saffron.) Christo and Jean-Claude knew what they were about when they picked the month of February for the installation.

I should back up a bit and mention that it was Al's idea to go; although I love sculpture and photography and have been known to visit museums with friends, I'm not particularly knowledgeable about (or, I suspect, adequately appreciative of) art in general. Like most people, however, I know what I like; whether anyone else would call it art kind of doesn't matter to me.

I probably would have walked over to Central Park to see the gates if I lived in New York, but it hadn't occurred to me to travel up there from Philadelphia until Al suggested it. It seemed like a fun adventure, and more manageable than driving to Maryland (Philadelphia is only 80 miles from New York City), so I agreed. I suggested we drive, since it would be less expensive and we'd have more control over the timing of our trip (and our pit stops).

As it turned out, we only had to pay $2 for parking because we found a spot on the street. (The two-hour time limit was perfect for us.) With gas and tolls the whole trip probably cost about $25—and it was so worth it. The gates were more impressive in person than I'd imagined they would be, and getting to experience them as a family was so much fun.

Launch The Gates

Mechanicsburg

As I mentioned on this site recently, Al and I marked our second wedding anniversary on October 6. My mom e-mailed a few days later to ask if we'd done anything special to celebrate, and I responded with the following:

Since Al was home sick from work that day, we just ordered Chinese food in rather than going out. We're going to Mechanicsburg this weekend for an overnight stay (he has to work out there on Friday), but that's not really anniversary-related. Hope to see some fall foliage.

As it turned out, our two days in Mechanicsburg were more anniversary-related than I could have imagined, in that (a) the drive out there and the tooling around in the car reminded us of our honeymoon road trip, and (b) two days of Al pointing enthusiastically at his childhood landmarks ("that's where my best friend, Steve Schaeffer, lived—right behind us!" and "there's Jorgen Harle's house—his dad was an architect!" and "that copy store used to be a 7-11, and the Tasty Freeze was over there, and wait, where's the Drug Fair? we used to ride our bikes there like every day...") made me fall in love with him all over again.

It was so special to be able to learn about Al's childhood—a childhood that was obviously very happy—and to understand why he speaks so fondly of Mechanicsburg. As we walked around his old elementary school playground and down Main Street, drove around his old neighborhood, visited old haunts like Jo-Jos Pizza and Capital City Mall, and photographed intersections, shops, pathways, and portals, I began to feel a part of his whole life, not just his adult life.

Over the course of the weekend, I became more sure than ever that he'd be a wonderful father, that enduring endless I told you sos from all those "nyah, nyah, you'll change your mind" hosers would be worth it to provide this incredible man the opporunity to parent. I'm not sure anyone else could have convinced me to have a child—or made me as happy to be along for the ride. I am so glad I married this man.

Oh, and we saw some amazing fall foliage. See the photos.

Happy Anniverary, My Love

Two years ago today, I married the perfect guy for me, the guy anyone who knew me would have said didn't exist. If I'd never met this perfect guy, I would have spent my entire life happily single. Instead, I'm spending it happily married.

We've become our own little unit of two (soon to be three!). Amazingly, this man managed to meet my toughest criterion: he's someone whose company I enjoy as much as being alone.

He was brave enough to take on someone who could be described as difficult, tempermental, impatient, and high-maintenance. He supports me emotionally, physically, and financially—something I never thought I'd need or even want. Now I thank him for it every day.

He warms my heart, makes me laugh until I can't breathe, encourages me on the ice and on the golf course, and assures me every day that I'll be a great mom.

This man can discuss politics, science, technology, baseball, football, finances.... In short, he can captivate me for hours with his brain—and even longer with his face.

Thank you, my love, for everything you've given me and everything you've been to me. And most of all, thanks for saying Yes. I'm looking forward to growing old with you.

We Love Our Kitchen

I haven't said much about our new kitchen since the last payment was made and Jack & Co. left me alone in the house with Annie, but we absolutely love it. It's about 9 months since we started the remodeling process, and we have a few observations about what we like, what we would have done differently, and what we still have to do.

	We painted the backsplash blue. Or rather, I painted it blue. We cooked for a couple weeks with the drywall exposed, but after splattering oil on it one night, I decided it was time to prime and paint. It took a while to find a color that would look nice with the countertops, the cabinets, and the floors (I took both a tile sample and a countertop sample with me to Home Depot to hold paint chips up to, which helped a LOT), but we ended up with something we both really like. Someday we might install slate or glass tiles over the paint, but for now, we like the backsplash the way it is.
	We've yet to paint the ceiling. I'm nervous about wrecking the cabinets with drops of paint, and I got pregnant shortly after painting the backsplash, so the ceiling remains unpainted. There've been proposals to have Al paint the ceiling or to hire the job out, but so far, nothing has been done.
	We wish there was a switch for the under-cabinet lighting by one of the doorways. We LOVE the under-cabinet lighting (I even prefer it to the overhead lights) and use them all the time. The only switch for them, however, is next to the sink—and given that they're often the only lights on at night, it'd be nice if we could turn them off on the way out of the room.
	I wish the cable outlet were separate from the phone jack. In fact, I wish it were across the room, under the corner cabinet. At the time of the cabling I was thinking that we'd want the TV out of the way, so I suggested that the cable outlet go on the dining room wall. As it turns out, the TV would be more out of the way if it were under the corner cabinet, because the corner is deep enough to actually accommodate the TV. The dining room wall counter really isn't. Still, since moving the little 9" TV down from the office-turned-nursery, we've spent even more time in the kitchen. It's nice to be able to cook without missing sporting events or favorite shows.
	*We're glad we planned where everything would go before* we started putting things away.** As the end of the remodel drew near, and we could see what our drawer and cabinet options were, we sorted through all our dishes, cookware, and silverware and figured out what we wanted to keep and what we wanted to give away. (We had a lot of duplicate items from when we combined households.) Once we had a final inventory of what we were keeping, we went through the kitchen figuring out where everything would go based on how we thought we'd use the kitchen. I don't think we've moved a single thing since we put it all away; the arrangement has worked out beautifully. Al's favorite storage area: the snack drawer. Mine: the tea cabinet.

As Predicted: A Leisurely Evening

Poolside BBQ

After working out this morning, I suggested to Al that we brave the Day at Sea crowds at the Oasis Pool and attempt another swim. He agreed, so once again I donned my pink striped bikini (it's the only suit I have that accommodates the belly), shorts, and t-shirt, and we headed up to Deck 12. (This time I brought a sports bra, so there'd be no soaking through my clothes post-swim.) We noticed that they'd set up the daily BBQ on either side of our whirlpool area (yes, it seems like "our" whirlpool area now), and that they were serving pork ribs, paella, chicken, and sausages in addition to burgers and hot dogs. The Expedia review had mentioned that the poolside BBQs were not to be missed (assuming you eat meat), so this seemed like a good time to try it out. (It'll also be our last, given that we return to New York tomorrow.)

We decided to swim first, braving the stares of other poolside denizens whose eyes seemed to be drawn magnetically (and often disapprovingly) toward my belly—were they appalled that I'd apparently had sex sometime in the past five months?—as well as a teenage boy whose whole body was drawn magnetically to Al. No matter where Al went in our little pool area, the kid would bump into him. There was one other couple in the whirlpool end, but they mostly hopped around in their own little corner, as we did. I'm glad our supply of 45 sport sunblock held out, because we ended up staying in the pool for quite a while. Floating around helped my nausea considerably, since I couldn't really feel the sway of the ship in the water. I probably could have stayed in there all day, but that would have meant missing lunch. What, me miss a meal? NEVER!

We finally got out, and I went to change while Al got a plate of pork ribs and fixins. I collected some paella, and then we went into the Garden Cafe to eat. I also got a salad, some soup, and a glass of milk to go with my paella, as well as some dessert. (I've been drinking more milk than water on this trip, oddly; between the milk and the TUMS, I shouldn't have any trouble meeting my daily calcium requirements.) Al reported that the ribs and chicken were quite good, and so was the paella in both of our opinions. Score one for the Expedia reviewers. Two, actually, if you also count the fact that they recommended the Indian vegetarian options at lunchtime.

We'll probably spend the rest of the day in a leisurely fashion: hanging out on our balcony, doing loops around the Promenade and Sports decks, hitting golf balls, watching ESPN, reading, and napping. We also plan to watch Calendar Girls at 9:00pm tonight (it's on one of the two edited-for-content movie channels available on our stateroom TV). The movie selection has been somewhat abysmal; I hadn't expected them to be showing current-run movies, but I did expect something more than Agent Cody Banks 2, several third-rate movies I'd never heard of, and two decent movies (Calendar Girls and Bend It Like Beckham) that have been on video and pay-per-view for months now. If you can't run current titles, how about at least offering some classics and other favorites of the past 20 years?

Raffle Results

We decided not to participate in the morning Bingo session today, mainly because the buy-in was too expensive. (The card options vary from session to session; for example, the first time we played it was buy-one-get-one-free for three cards per game for four games at $29, and the second time it was three cards for five games for $19 each. You could also get one card per game for $9 in that session, and there were more expensive options as well. This morning's lowest buy-in was $39 per person, which seemed too steep to us given that we were in it for fun, not money.) Instead we hung out through the first two games, awaiting the raffle drawing after game two. Sadly, we didn't win, and our 6-pack of Krack-Its (kind of like Scratchers, only with Advent calendar-like peel-back panels instead of messy silver coating) did not yield the other free cruise, either. I guess we'll just have to save a little if we want to send mom and dad on a cruise.

Now that we're back at sea my nausea has returned, especially after sitting in the Spinnaker Lounge, which is all the way forward. Apparently it's not unusual for the waters to be rough in the Atlantic, even without a hurricane nearby. Nevertheless, we are going to avail ourselves of the Fitness Center in the aft portion of the ship and try to work off some of the buffet food. I hope I can stay on the treadmill or elliptical trainer with all of this pitching and rolling....

Slot Silliness, Plus More Bingo and Even More Food

We washed Nassau off and changed clothes upon arriving back in our stateroom, and shortly after I wrote the last entry, the ship left port. After some yummy wild mushroom soup and other goodies at the Garden Cafe, we spent the rest of the afternoon gaming: We entered the "Victory at Sea" slot tournament (again, not so much in hopes of winning, but rather because we thought it was hilarious that what you do in a slot tournament is hit the Spin Reels button as often as possible in five minutes—we just *had* to try it ourselves), and then we dashed from the casino to the Spinnaker Lounge for another round of Bingo. The main draw here, in addition to the fun of bending back the numbers on our perforated cards (and the proximity of the Spinnaker Lounge to the Garden Cafe, which was serving its Afternoon Snacks), was that we earned raffle tickets with every card purchase. The raffle drawing, which will be held at tomorrow morning's Bingo session, is for a cruise for two—something we'd like to win so we can give it to my parents. I think they'd enjoy cruising (even the stops in port). I was one number away—N 49—from winning the last Bingo round, but Mike, the wonderfully goofy Assistant Cruise Director (second only in goofiness—and command—to Cruise Director Colin, the Scot) called N 48 instead, and somebody else got it. Oh well; as I said, we weren't in it for the jackpots anyway. It just would have been nice to yell "BINGO!"

I'm sitting here reading a Jane Austen mystery and jotting down notes about our day while Al hits some golf balls up on Deck 13; I suspect we'll go stuff ourselves silly again at the Garden Cafe upon his return. Tonight's buffet theme is Italian; though that's not a very exciting prospect, I've learned that there will always be something yummy to eat up there. If nothing else, the salad and dessert will be worth seconds, I'm sure.

Our Spirits Get Soaked

Got up early this morning, mainly because we docked in Nassau at 7am, and the announcements about going ashore started then. Instead of disembarking right away, we changed into our bathing suits and headed up to the Oasis Pool for a morning swim. This time we brought the underwater camera... though it's the one I was given to use on the Dreamweaver 4/UltraDev 4 ship trip to Hawaii in January 2001, and the film in it expired in 2002. We figured what the heck: if anything came out, great; if not, oh well. [If anything comes out that's worth looking at, I'll add the photos to this post later.] We had the small whirlpool all to ourselves—hooray!—and spent at least 30 minutes swimming, bobbing, and dancing around (the water is only waist-deep at that end). At about 8:15 the music started blaring over the pool's PA, and families started gathering at the poolside tables with their Garden Cafe trays. We figured we'd had enough, and it was time to get out and eat breakfast.

We donned shorts and t-shirts (next time I'm bringing a sports bra with me and taking off my suit—no matter how much I toweled off, I still soaked through my shorts and shirt) and walked the 20 yards or so to the Garden Cafe. We opted to eat indoors to avoid the too-loud pool music. After stuffing ourselves with delicious grapefruit halves and toast, we went back to our room to shower, change, and prepare to visit Nassau. This time we didn't have to go through a terminal with customs officers or take a tender; we could just walk off the boat onto the pier, and from there past the other cruise ships and into the city.

Alas, Nassau turned out not to suit us very well. I've discovered that while I like cruising—the part that involves being on the ship—it isn't how I like to see new places. Generally I like to avoid tourist areas (and other tourists) and just blend in, experiencing the city or country as much like a local as possible. This is decidedly impossible on a cruise, as you are dumped en masse with your fellow passengers in port. You feel (or at least I do) like you're in a herd of cattle being led to slaughter.

This probably accounts for the creepy, every-hand-in-our-pockets feeling we got on arriving at the Festival Market in Nassau. We ended up declining the numerous offers of a taxi, despite the fact that the light rain we'd tried to ignore on the walk from the ship had turned into a steady downpour, and bought an umbrella at a souvenir shop instead. We set off toward Atlantis, which was recommended to us as a must-see spot by a Bahamian customs official we met at dinner yesterday, and which our map indicated was only 1 1/4 miles away. It turned out to be a more difficult trek than we'd anticipated because of the narrow sidewalks, which were both badly maintained and badly flooded, the diesel fumes that hung in the humid air and made us headachy and nauseous, and of course the relentless rain. We often had to pause in doorways and then make a mad dash down the sidewalk when there was a gap in traffic to avoid being sprayed by trucks and taxis hitting huge pools of standing water in the street.

Thus, despite the umbrella, we were both fairly wet by the time we reached the bridge to Paradise Island and Atlantis. The bridge turned out to be rather long and steep, and our spirits were not up to the climb. We decided to give up and return to the ship. Luckily, the return walk seemed shorter, in part because we knew the route and how far we had to go. Plus we knew that there was nothing much to look at in the way of scenery, so we could keep our eyes on the puddles and potholes and move at a brisker pace. I'm sure the Bahamas are lovely, but what we saw of Nassau didn't make us want to go back anytime soon. (I also hope I never smell diesel fuel again.)

08.13.04 ~ The underwater photos did indeed come out fine, so as promised, I'm adding them to this post:

Thursday Bullet Points

	Woke up irritable, spent rest of day laughing.
	Ate leisurely breakfast (at the Garden Cafe, of course), then caught tender (i.e., boat that holds 320 people) to Great Stirrup Cay, NCL's "private island". Found beach too crowded and smoky (from the BBQ), so we walked toward the lighthouse. The mosquitos found us a bit too tasty, however, and the heat and humidity demanded more drinking water than we had, so we only walked about a mile. We caught the next tender back, changed into our bathing suits, and went up to Deck 12.
	Oasis Pool was relatively empty; for most of the time we had the small whirlpool area in front of Topsiders Bar to ourselves. It was GREAT. 82° was the perfect temperature for cooling off without getting cold, and the salt water made me extra buoyant. We wished we'd brought a waterproof camera to get some underwater belly shots.
	After swimming we came back to the room, showered and changed, ate lunch at the Garden Cafe (they have a yummy Indian Vegetarian line at lunchtime), and then spent the afternoon playing games.
	We played Scrabble (with the wrong number of tiles, we discovered—we sorted them out when we were done, so the next people wouldn't get two Xs but only four As), Bingo, and Texas Hold 'Em all in one day. Bingo was fairly high-stakes, but we played more for fun than in hopes that we'd win any jackpots. We figure we've been so fortunate in our daily lives lately, getting a Bingo jackpot would somehow unbalance the Universal Scales of Justice. Texas Hold 'Em was played with a couple kids who came into Shuffles Card Room—James, 16, and his stepbrother Eric, 13, both from Connecticut. Eric's brother Jake, 10, watched, and Mike, 14, came in later to watch Eric win and to collect James for some illicit clubbing. (James asked us if some party/disco/happy hour/god-knows-what-nightlife would be happening again tonight, and we said we didn't know. He said he was able to get in last night without being stopped by any crewmembers—and he was only 16! That's how we ended up asking about everybody's ages. Now that I think of it, both Al and I were more than twice as old as anybody else at the table... and, of course, utterly clueless about clubbing options onboard. I guess it's time to part with the illusion that we're hip.)
	Lori: "Cruising is like Family Camp at a 3 1/2 star hotel... that floats."

Our Way: Buffet

The Garden Cafe continues to meet or exceed our rather middling expectations, while the other restaurants consistently disappoint. My meal tonight at the Venetian was typical; I started with President Reagan's Gruyére Fondue Crepes, which were strangely breaded and fried, and lacking the strong, salty flavor I associate with Gruyére. For an entree I had the Cooking Light vegetarian option, a Vidalia Onion Risotto with Feta Cheese. Again, the presentation was odd; the risotto was garnished with red onions, not Vidalias. I ended up being thankful for those red onions, however, as they were the only things that gave the dish any flavor at all. Once I'd eaten a small forkful of rice and a cube of feta cheese with each ring, I stopped, leaving 80% of my dish untouched. The waiter noticed and offered me a different entree, but the only other option for me was the sea bass, which Al had. He declared it, "no too bad," but to me it was just as bland as the risotto. I said I'd wait for dessert.

Dessert was worthwhile—a plum cake whose only flaw was that it could have used more plums—with a rather tasty cup or two of rich decaf coffee. Afterwards we ended up going up to the Garden Cafe just to see what the Mexican Buffet offered, and we found a couple treats worth making room for. The rhubarb cobbler I'd had for dessert at Salsa was available with a vanilla sauce, and it was wonderful. YUM. Al got a couple pork ribs and some chips and salsa (the salsa, he reported, was better than what was available at the restaurant of the same name).

Earlier today, when we returned from the Miami bus tour (which we both thought was great—especially the stop at the Versailles Bakery), Al went swimming in the Oasis pool while I rested. We then had afternoon snacks (a late lunch, really, since we'd missed ours due to the tour) at the Garden Cafe, after which I completely conked out for about two hours. I think I'm more prone to heat exhaustion now that I'm pregnant. Anyway, I had lots of vivid dreams while napping, including one in which I met the baby. My sister wheeled him out of the delivery room and announced his arrival. I looked over and said, "I know, I was in the delivery room... virtually." It sounded stupid even as I said it, but while I knew I had to have been there in order to give birth, I couldn't remember the labor or delivery. "Virtually" was my odd explanation. Even weirder, I think the baby was a girl, and I know I'm having a boy. I can't be sure about that now, though...

Yo Quiero Miami

Today we're doing a shore excursion together: a bus tour of Miami and Miami Beach called "The Magic City." Our tour guide is a take-no-shit Welshman who obviously loves Miami and knows a lot about it. His running commentary on everything from architecture to agriculture is fascinating. Miami Beach (and Miami proper, for that matter) is beautiful; I visited before when my great grandmother lived here in the late 70s and 80s, but I don't think I'd ever seen South Beach. I loved all the little Art Deco hotels. The guayaba (guava) pastelitos at the Versailles Bakery on Calle Ocho were excellent, and Al says the Cuban coffee (highly caffeinated, so I didn't try it) and empanadas de pollo were, too. I got to try out my rusty Spanish while ordering, too (I was suprised to find that it came easily). I wish we had another day or two to explore the neighborhoods of Miami and Miami Beach on foot. We'll probably come back for a visit—maybe for our anniversary next year?

Hurricane Alex

Waiting for a bus at Cocoa Village. Got off the ship this morning and took a shuttle bus to Cocoa Beach (organized by the cruise as a "shore excursion", $14), then took public transportation to Merritt Mall and Cocoa Village. (Conversation on the public bus: Me to teenage girl sitting to my right: "Is the mall the next stop?" Teenage girl sitting to my right: "No, Wal-Mart is first, then the mall.") I'm wondering now if I should have stopped at Wal-Mart; there might have been more to see. It's VERY, VERY hot out, and this bus stop is in full sun. I only found one store I wanted to visit in Cocoa Village (most businesses were lunch cafes or coffee shops with no A/C and nothing to offer me, since I'm full up on free cruise food), so I only got a brief break from the sun and heat. The mall offered A/C, thankfully, but little else except very sad (but very cute) puppies at the pet store. I'm ready to go back and spend some time in the shade on the ship.

Last night I was extremely seasick, as we passed what turned into Hurricane Alex. We got up for the Chocoholic's Buffet at 2pm, and later restocked at the mini version in the casino at 5:15pm, but after that I was down for the count. Al brought me back some shrimp cocktail and fruit from the buffet, and later we ordered a fruit plate from the limited room service menu, but that's about all I could keep down. Eyes closed, head on pillow was the order of the evening. It felt like the worst days of the first trimester of pregnancy.

This morning was MUCH calmer as we cruised into Port Canaveral. Al got ready for his golf outing, and I went to work out in the Fitness Center. I rode the bike, walked on the treadmill, lifted some free weights, and then weighed myself. With my shorts, sports bras (two, since I've got pregnancy boobs out the wazoo), and sneakers on, I weighed 172. Not too bad. I then went and had a low-key breakfast in the Garden Cafe, surrounded by nutty families.

Fruit Salads and Avoiding the Crowds

The turbulence is starting to get to me; I've felt a bit nauseous for the past hour. Nevertheless, we are at lunch, this time at Aqua (one of the three "traditional" restaurants). Al has ordered a papaya filled with exotic fruits and ginger yogurt and a pork and shrimp udon, and I have ordered a Key West salad and the variety of Mediterranean vegetarian treats. After lunch, it's on to the Chocoholic's Buffet. :)

The papaya and salad just arrived. The papaya is pretty good, though the fruits it's filled with are hardly exotic—watermelon and cantaloupe. My salad is more interesting—avocado, orange, and watermelon over butter lettuce, raddichio, and endive. I was expecting a lime vinaigrette, but instead there's a creamy lime dressing. A bit sweet, but a refreshing starter.

Al has declared his udon noodles "a bit overcooked, but quite yummy." Udon is a dish that demands to be eaten with chopsticks, but when we asked for some we were told that they didn't have any because "this isn't an Asian restaurant." (As opposed to Bamboo, the "specialty" Asian fusion restaurant with the $12.50 cover charge.) Our waitress did offer to try to find us some, but we declined, given that she'd probably have to go far afield while the noodles cooled.

The tabouleh on my plate is surprisingly good, especially since I don't usually like tabouleh. The dolmas are also excellent—which is good, because they're the reason I ordered this dish. (They're also a source of amusement, because they remind me of the time Al asked our 7-months-pregnant friend Jean whether she was going to have a dolma at the delivery. He meant doula.) The hummus and tzatziki are a bit over-garlicky and could use a wedge or two of pita to go with them, but they're not essential, given the zillion other food options on the ship. The nice thing about "free", unlimited food is that you don't feel compelled to eat anything you don't like. There's always some other option ahead of you.

We were warned about how crowded the restaurants could get, but so far the only restaurant we've found to be consistently mobbed is the Garden Cafe. I'm not sure whether it's because it's a buffet, it's kid-friendly, it's adjacent to the Oasis Pool (the only other area of the ship that's almost always crowded), or whether everyone else has discovered what we have—that it offers the best food despite the low-key atmosphere. We'll probably give the Venetian a try sometime this week, but after lunch yesterday and (two) breakfasts this morning, we're looking forward to seeing what the Garden Cafe has on offer for dinner.